BLACKSBURG, Va., — Arthur Buikema spent fall semester teaching and developing programs in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, under a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship and can’t wait to get back this coming summer to finish the work he started.
Buikema, alumni distinguished professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Tech, fell in love with the people of the country that is troubled by skyrocketing inflation, political upheaval, starvation, and lack of education in rural areas. The visit to the hot, sub-Saharan plateau where artists produce fascinating stone sculptures, paintings, and masks, was one of the best experiences Buikema has ever had.
Buikema worked at the National University of Science and Technology, which is 10 years old and still developing degree programs. He helped develop two courses, Freshwater Biology and Principles of Environmental Education, second-year courses for the first class in the new degree program in Environmental Science and Health. Originally, the Fulbright proposal was to develop on-line course materials, "but that was optimistic at the moment," Buikema said. The inflation rate is 104 percent per year.
The country lacks the computers and facilities needed for on-line courses. Instead, he was asked to develop a course in environmental education; so he learned about the country’s lakes and river and land systems and put together a course to teach people about sustainable development.
In Zimbabwe, "the students were more often than not used to having their lecture notes read to them," Buikema said. "I had a whole different idea of how to teach." He gave the students handouts because there is "virtually no library or textbooks" there. As a result, the administration asked him to do a workshop on alternative teaching strategies. He also did one for future use on integrating technology into education. Drawing on his broad experience at Virginia Tech, he also presented workshops to new students on living and study skills.
Besides working, Buikema traveled and experienced life in Zimbabwe. He saw the tragic side—the poverty, the lack of education and opportunities, the sickness of AIDS. One out of two Zimbabweans has the HIV virus, he said. "We passed a cemetery with row after row of freshly dug graves and multiple funerals going on at the same time."
But he also saw the country’s beauty. The people are "absolutely wonderful," Buikema said. "They’re friendly, kind, somewhat laid back. I had to learn to appreciate the different concept of time than we have here at Tech, and I hope I never lose it."
He visited Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park to observe wild animals, and Matapos Hills Park to see the stone formations. He saw the ruins of the Great Zimbabwe and Khami, an ancient sun-worshipping civilization, and the Cyreme Mission where an artist priest had painted the walls with African versions of Biblical stories. Buikema visited the Bushman cave paintings, took a couple of bush trips, and got to walk with the white rhinos.
One of the best experiences he had was the inter-city Methodist church, with services and music in the Shona language. The church—a roof with a concrete slab and one partial wall and wooden benches—played its music with a drum and three rattles. The choir came in to a traditional Methodist hymn, marching to the cadence of the music, Buikema said.
Another adventure was sampling African cuisine. He could buy a typical, good lunch of corn-meal beef stew and chomoulia (collard greens) for 23 cents American money. He tried kapenta, a dried fish fry, and mopane worm—dried caterpillar. At the 41st –year celebration of Nigerian independence, Buikema ate pepper soup with intestines, stomach, and sphincter muscles, "and it was good." Because he was a guest of honor of sorts, he was given the main piece of the highest delicacy—cow’s foot—hoof and all. "They were playing a game with me to see what I would do," he said. He ate it.
In July, Buikema will return to Zimbabwe to work on web development. There are, he said, a number of Internet cafes with access to computers at reasonable rates. He also will conduct a workshop on alternative teaching methods for secondary schools. In addition, he will offer, at the request of the university faculty, workshops on Power Point production and an introduction to course web development.
Buikema came home from Zimbabwe the first time with several works of art, including an artist’s rendition of an African mask done in scrap steel, and the memories of all the people he met and places he saw. He values the time he spent there. "I really felt I was making a contribution,’ he said.
PR CONTACT: Sally Harris, 540-231-6759, slharris@vt.edu